No Functional Website, No Licence: NPFL Tightens Club Licensing Rules
Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clubs without functional websites risk being denied licences to compete in the 2026/27 season after the league made a strong digital presence a mandatory club licensing requirement.
The directive was announced by the NPFL’s Chief Operating Officer, Chief Davidson Owumi, during the NPFL/Afrinvest Marketing and Media Workshop for club Marketing and Media Directors held in Enugu on Wednesday.
Owumi said every club must establish and maintain a functional website and provide its link during the registration process at the NPFL office as part of the licensing conditions.
He explained that a credible online presence has become essential for modern football clubs, providing sponsors, scouts and other stakeholders with easy access to reliable information about clubs, players and commercial activities.
“Access to credible and verifiable information about all the twenty NPFL clubs is an important marketing tool for the league to attract sponsorship not just within the domestic economy but globally,” Owumi said.
Describing football as a global business, he stressed that Nigerian clubs must embrace the digital space to compete internationally and unlock commercial opportunities.
Beyond websites, Owumi urged club management to overhaul their media departments to meet the demands of modern digital communication. He said the era of relying on a single media officer to handle match updates, photography, videography and content production should come to an end.
According to him, clubs should build fully equipped media teams comprising photographers, videographers, graphics designers and video editors capable of producing quality content that drives engagement across digital platforms.
Also speaking at the workshop, NPFL Communications and Media Director Harry Iwuala called on club management to allocate more resources to their media departments, insisting that investment in digital infrastructure would translate into greater commercial returns.
Iwuala noted that, beyond promoting players to prospective scouts and attracting sponsors, clubs can generate additional revenue through well-managed social media platforms and other digital channels.
The workshop also featured presentations from George Isitua Onukwu, Managing Director of TBWA Concepts, global marketing agency; Nelson Ine, Director at GTI Assets Management; and sports administration and marketing expert Dr. Derek Kaka’an, who shared insights on marketing, investment and commercial growth strategies for NPFL clubs.
